Legendary Filmmaker Paul Mazursky Dead at 84

Paul Mazursky died yesterday of pulmonary cardiac arrest. Born Irwin Mazursky in 1930, he’d go on to be nominated for five Oscars. After getting his start as an actor, Mazursky eventually became known best for writing and directing films that deftly captured contemporary life at the end of the 1960s and 1970s, with movies like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Blume in Love, Harry and Tonto, Next Stop, Greenwich Village, and An Unmarried Woman. His work was hugely influential, especially on those making similarly honest dramedies. 2006’s Yippee, an autobiographical documentary about his trip to a Ukrainian Hasidic Jew festival, was his last feature.Most recently, he appeared as Norm on Curb Your Enthusiasm and has served as a film critic for Vanity Fair. He was 84.